


Meraki

by Anime_vixen98



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Assassins Creed - Fandom, Assassins Creed Valhalla
Genre: AC Valhalla, AU, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Assassins Creed Valhalla - Freeform, Blood and Gore, Drama, Eventual Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Hytham is a bean, Romance, Time Travel, Valhalla, Vikings, Violence, alternative universe, assassins creed, past and future, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:08:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29154822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anime_vixen98/pseuds/Anime_vixen98
Summary: A doctor in training, anticipating for the day when she would become fully qualified and earn her medical license. After a long shift at the hospital of UChicago Medical tending to patients; some pleasant others not so much, Lucy's day turns from stressful to downright horrific.
Relationships: Hytham/Reader, Hytham/oc, OC/OC, vili/oc, vili/reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. A Day in the Life

Human beings are not indestructible, yet we continue to act like we are.  
This poor bairn had to learn that fact the hard way. A small eight-year-old boy going by the name of Miles Davis, sat up on the examination chair while Dr Williams examined the state of his broken elbow. Big fat tears were leaving trail marks down the child’s face, he sniffled and gave out the occasional whimper whenever the Doctor would prod at the injury in anyway. The poor mother cradled her boy trying her best to offer any comfort she could, her hushing and stroking the cherub’s hair probably being the only thing preventing him from going into hysterics.  
This sort of behaviour is normal whenever a childs been injured or falls ill, its rare to see any kid who NOT scared of the doctors or hospitals for that matter. Especially when there’s truly little separating the area from the rest of the A&E. A curtain really isn’t much against blocking out the sounds of heart monitors in other areas, the nurses taking emergency calls from several different patients and the constant rush of beds being wheeled in from an incoming ambulance. All in all, this entire environment must have been overstimulating for the boy.

As the good doctor performed his examination, it was my job to stay on the side-lines unless instructed to do otherwise, I am afterall still a student. Satisfied with his examination Dr Williams stood up, deeming it unnecessary to stress out the bairn anymore than needed to.

“Alright Mrs Davis, I suspect that Miles here may have dislocated his elbow, although I’d like to take him for an Xray to fully assess the damage. Just to make sure there isn’t anything we’ve missed.”

“Of course, how long will it take?”

“Not long at all, we’ll just get the room all set up to make this process as quick as possible.”

“Alright Doctor.”

“Miss Campbell, I trust you will get Miles ready for his Xray.”

I nodded my head in understanding while watching the good doctor move the curtain to let himself out, by this point the kid had stopped shaking and wasn’t trying to cling to his mother like a lifeline. He was still crying, clearly, but was trying his best not to move his arm in anyway possible. My heart went out for him, no matter what I’ll always have a soft spot for children.

“Okay Miles, I’m going to get a gown for you to change in and when Doctor Williams is ready, I’ll take you to a special room where you’ll get an Xray of your arm.”

Miles looked up at me with untrusting eyes, suspecting that I’ll poke and prod at his arm like the doctor did. He squirmed closer to his mother, practically trying to hide behind her like a human shield. Poor quine looked exhausted, very much wanting this whole ordeal to be over and done with. I could faintly hear something akin to mumbling. Mrs Davis silently nudged her son as a way to persuade him to speak properly.

“…...will it hurt?”

“No darlin’ I promise, you won’t feel a thing. When the doctor gets your Xray, we’ll make your arm feel better. So, you’ll need to be brave, can you do that for me?”

I made sure to keep my voice soft and low as to not spook the injured boy anymore than he already was. He nodded in understanding, still reluctant to move away from the exhausted woman.

“You talk funny.”

This wouldn’t be the first time someone’s commented on my accent, despite living in Chicago for nearly eighteen years, the good ol rough Scottish accent never left my voice. Probably due to growing up in a household with a dad and older brother who were fiercely proud of their Scottish roots. I barely remember much from back then; we did move from Edinburgh when I was only six.  
Mrs Davis had let out a gasp, her face turning a bright shade of red in embarrassment from her sons blatant comment. 

“Miles! What have I told you about being rude! Apologise to the poor nurse.”

I had to hold back a snort of amusement at this poor woman’s predicament, at the end of the day kids will be kids and it will always be hilarious whenever they embarrass their parents. Usually, I’d feel a twinge of annoyance at being referred to as a nurse but I’ve gotten used to people mistaking me for one. I’ve actually grown to feel quite flattered by it really, my time here had shown that nurses were essentially the bread & butter for this entire hospital. Without them literally nothing would get done.  
I could faintly hear Miles mumble a small ‘sorry’ under his breath, on the verge of having a huff at his mother for being reprimanded. I knelt down, offering him a small smile, assuring him that he’d really not bothered me in anyway.

“It’s okay, I come from a place REALLY far away. I got used to speaking like this because the faeries and kelpies wouldn’t have understood me if I sounded different.”

As a doctor the one thing that’s been drilled into my head is to show compassion always. No matter how small the injury may be or even if a patient was just picking up medication, to show compassion was to show by healing and saving lives, we’re placing a part of ourselves in our work.  
Wiping the snot on his sleeve, Miles just looked at me in disbelief thinking that I was probably nuts for saying that I used to talk to mythical creatures but in all honesty appealing to a childs inner imagination is one of the best ways to distract them from the pain.

“Fairies aren’t real, and what’s a kelpie?”

Placing a hand over my heart, I faked a shocked gasp, pulling out the dramatics to make the whole thing more believable. I placed a finger to my lips in a shushing motion.

“Careful wee one; it’s bad luck to say such things if they hear you…and a kelpie is a water horse, very mysterious, very shy of people.”

“If kelpies don’t like people, then how come you were able to talk to them?”

That’s good, get him talking. I pulled out a hospital gown and laid it out on the chair beside the bairn and checked the documents on the side table ensuring everything was up to date while explaining my tale.

“I saw one when I was little, much littler than you. We had one that slept in the loch every day because they don’t like the sun. So I had to wait for it every night.”

By now I had the kids full attention, they always love a good story , even when they like to believe that they’re too old for any fairytales. I could hear Mrs Davis sigh in amusement, relieved that her child wasn’t being difficult anymore. She nudged Miles to get him to put the gown on, to which he begrudgingly did.

“At first it would only pop its head out a few times, it really didn’t like that I was there, but that was alright, as long as I didn’t get too close. But one night I missed going and I saw the water horse rise from the loch. It was huge!”

The bairn could hardly take his eyes off me as I continued my story. This was probably one of the advantages of not many people knowing about old Scottish folklore; it could never be overtold. At this point Miles had changed into the gaudy hospital gown, clearly not enjoying the scratchy material. The curtain separating the room was pushed back with Doctor Williams smiling in satisfaction.

“Alright Miles, if you and your mother follow me, we’ll get your Xray done.”

Mrs Davis grabbed her sons uninjured hand and attempted to lead him to follow the Doctor to the radiology room, however he squirmed attempting to stay put.

“Wait! If you were at home, how did you talk to it?”

“Well, I did say I went to the loch every night. That was just the first time I saw it. Now off you go, it’s time we fixed you up.”

I could tell that he was unsatisfied by my answer, but that’s the trick to being a good storyteller; always leave them wanting more. Mrs Davis smiled to me in gratitude before finally getting Miles to leave the room.

I sighed in exhaustion, after that I still have seven more hours of shadowing the Doctor, helping him tend to patients and helping out the nurses with any medical emergencies. Sometimes those were the most nerve wracking, afterall there was always the possibility that a patient could die right here and unfortunately, I have seen that happen more times than I could count. But nothing and I mean could compare to the look in a person’s eyes when they’ve been given the news that they or a loved one was terminally ill. That first look of complete denial that there was nothing we could do, just make them as comfortable as possible. I honestly don’t blame them, I’m awfully familiar with that feeling; we’re doctors, we study and train to save lives so therefore we must be able to do something, right? Unfortunately, a lot of people do forget that we’re only human, we’re not perfect, there’s only so much we could do. After that kind of news finally sinks in, that horrible feeling of helplessness finally washes in and drags you down to rock bottom—

“Lucy Lou! We need you out here! We’ve got a man in the next room with a possible concussion and lacerations to his arms.”

I was snapped out of old memories by one of the nurses, Amelia, who called me out to give her a hand. I nodded and followed the strawberry blonde to tend to the next patient. I smiled and attempted to hide my reddening face, out of all the colleagues here, Amelia was my favourite to be around and the reason was pretty obvious. Although while at work it was unprofessional to show any intentions or actions that were deemed inappropriate. Right now all that mattered was doing our jobs to the best of our ability, any distractions could affect a patients health. When I first started out at UChicago Medical, Amelia was the one of the first people to welcome me with such enthusiasm. She showed me the ropes on the everyday life at the hospital, teaching me everything she knew that would help me in becoming a full-fledged doctor. There’s no one quite like her here and honestly I cant picture her as anything other than a nurse, always putting the patients comfort and well being first, going the extra mile for each and individual one. A literal angel.

“He’s just through there, I’m going to go get some codeine for his pain, I’ll be right with you shortly.”

“Okay, I’ll go ahead and check how bad his concussion is and get him cleaned up.”

The bubbly nurse rushed off to get the painkillers for this next patient, until she gets back I’m on my own. That’s alright, I’m permitted to treat patients with minor ailments on my own so it’s not like I’m way out of my comfort zone here. I pushed back the curtain to see the injured man. He looked to be in his forties, quite big built so he must be used to hard everyday labour. Covered in black & blue bruises, one of them which had swollen his eye completely shut and like Amelia said he was covered in lacerations on his arms and face. But the main thing I zeroed in on; he did not look happy.

“Finally! It’s about damn time, I’ve been sitting here for nearly an hour!”

This man’s voice was deep and demanded respect right off the bat. I can understand the irritation if he had been waiting here for as long as he claimed, but there really wasn’t any need for rudeness, I had to be sure to bite my tongue to prevent myself from letting out a snarky retort.

“Where’s the doctor? These aren’t going to patch themselves up!”

“Mr Carter? I will be your physician for now and responsible for your treatment. Could you tell me if you’re experiencing any dizziness or nausea?”

A look of disbelief crossed Carter’s face before turning into pure irritation, as if I just asked him something ridiculous.

“There’s no way you’re a doctor! You can’t expect me to let an actual child attempt to treat me. Get me a real doctor now!”

I breathed heavily through my nose and counted to ten in my head, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with an asshole for a patient and he certainly won’t be the last.

“Mr Carter, I assure you that I’m more than qualified to oversee treatment for your injuries. Now could you please tell me what happened exactly?”

“Like Hell you—”

The guys soon-to-be rant was quickly interrupted by a certain nurse angel. A wide smile and warm atmosphere, but even I could detect a hint of annoyance caused by the obnoxious volume of this man.

“Dr Campbell? I have the codeine for Mr Carter’s pain.”

Amelia you absolute godsend of a woman, if we weren’t in the presence of a patient, I’d actually get down on one knee and propose to you, neamhaidh.  
The brute of a man scoffed at the poor nurse, as if she’d just disrespected him by the mere suggestion of giving him pain relief. Pig.

“Whatever give it here. I’m in agony.”

Sure you are, you’re in such agony you deemed it necessary to disrespect me, my abilities as a doctor (in training) and now the nurse who’s just trying to help. He snatched the medication from Amelia’s hand, popping open the bottle and knocking back a couple of pills. How charming. I grabbed a small medical torch and cautiously made my way over to Carter; he obviously knew what it was I wanted him to do and I was surprised to see him actually comply. I shined the light in each of his eyes checking the dilation of his pupils.

“Alright Mr Carter could you please tell me what happened? And are you feeling dizzy or nauseous?”

“Just a stupid accident at the construction site. Lost my footing on a ladder and I just fell. And no my head just hurts like a bitch”

I didn’t believe a word he said, so chances are he did something really stupid and is too proud to admit it or he was attacked. The cuts on his arms look like defence wounds.

“Nurse could you please get me some utensils to clean and sew up Mr Carters injuries?”

“It’s no problem.”

I could tell Amelia was happy to leave the room for a short amount of time, and I don’t blame her. I wish I could pass this guy off to someone else, someone with a Hell of a lot more patience than me. I picked up Mr Carter’s charts to have a look at his medical history, a bit weary of the man in the room with me. Turns out this isn’t his first trip to A&E. In the past five months he’s been sent here six times! There’s obviously something else going on here but unfortunately, it’s extremely unprofessional to demand answers from a patient, and I’m not about to question a man twice my size who’s clearly got a massive stick shoved up ass. I know Amelia was gone for only a few minutes but those minutes felt like hours, with Mr Carter staring holes into me, I felt completely naked under a single eye. I hated this entire situation, it’s times like this where I wished that doctors could turn away people. It sounds utterly horrible I know, but like I said we’re only human.

“Here’s the equipment you needed Doctor.”

“Thank you nurse, please set them over there next to Mr Carter.”

Carter’s eyes quickly shot to the small nurse, looking her up and down, at first it was in frustration which then turned to hunger. I had to grit my teeth and my grip on the clipboard tightened on the verge of nearly shattering it. The sooner I patch him up, the sooner he’ll be on his merry way and out of our hair. I motioned for Carter to hold out his arms so that I could clean and disinfect the cuts, determining which ones needed stitches. I gave him a small dose of anaesthetic and began to thread the needle.

“There’s no need for that, they’ll be fine with just a bandage.”

I’m sorry who’s the doctor here? Oh right moi.

“Mr Carter, some of these cuts need a couple of stitches, if I were to just leave them then they’ll be at risk of infection.”

The older man just huffed at my statement, but let me continue, nonetheless. In total this man needed about eight stitches for his wounds, all that was needed was to bandage him up, there wasn’t much I could do about the bruising.

“Alright Mr Carter, that should be enough for you. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done about the bruising, but they should begin to fade away in a couple of days. Try not to do anything too strenuous in case you end up reopening your stitches. If you head to the receptionist with this prescription, you’ll be given more pain medication for the next couple of weeks.”

Instead of being a respectful human being and thanking me, the older man snatched the piece of paper out of my hands and roughly pushed the curtain out of his way to leave, grumbling about ‘useless nurses’ on the way out. 

“What a dick.”

I softly laughed at Amelia’s insult, it’s always surprising since she’s never really one to swear but when she does it’s hilarious.

“Now now neamhaidh. That’s not very nice for a nurse to say.”

“Oh come one Lucy, like you’re one to talk. If you had your way, you’d make that bear of a man downright terrified of you.”

This time I didn’t even try to hold back my laughter all because she was right. When I get angry, I let all Hell break loose. The majority of Americans are always so surprised by how foul mouthed I can be but Amelia never seemed to mind that at all. In fact I think she loved it, said something about how my rough accent was charming even when it was spewing out filth.

“You know exactly why I couldn’t say what I really wanted to. My arse wouldn’t even touch the floor because Doctor Williams would kick me out so fast.”

The beauty in front of me giggled, holding a hand to her mouth to stop her from full out laughing out loud. I cracked a smile at her reaction, my eyes darting around the room in an attempt to not be caught full out staring at her. I could already feel the blood rush to my face and I quickly lowered my head to hide my embarrassment. I can’t help my reactions to this woman, she’s just so….warm. 

“You know Lucy when we get the time, we should meet up for a drinks sometime! Along with the other nurses and interns!”

For a moment I really thought that the angel of this hospital was asking me out, until she mentioned other colleagues joining us, I felt a slight twinge of disappointment. No matter, spending any sort of time with her would be more than enough for me, even just having a simple conversation with her makes my day.

“Yeah, definitely hun, I’d be more than happy to.”

The atmosphere was a lot more light-hearted now that most of the stress was gone, this was a lot more peaceful. It didn’t last however until the shout of a nurse rang out through the halls.

“Code Blue! Code Blue!”


	2. Emergency

“Pressures dropping, we’re gonna need a tube before the airways completely close off.”

The whole area was practically in shambles. Nurses rushing left, right & centre to get the necessary drugs needed for this dying patient. I recognise him; he was rushed in this morning from a near fatal car crash. Well if his vitals continue to decline then it would’ve been fatal. To be honest I’m surprised he actually survived, he was rushed in here practically banging on deaths door. As I tried to insert the tube to get his oxygen levels back up, he started seizing, foam coming out of his mouth. Shit! “He’s Seizing! Amelia get me Ativan now!”

“Right!” The loud ringing of the heart monitors was almost deafening, the poor mans body thrashing as if possessed, almost terrifying really. I remember the first time I saw a seizure happen right in front of me; I nearly passed out from fright. It’s a good thing now it doesn’t make me freeze up anymore.  
Like a switch being flipped the patient just suddenly went limp, the loud drone signalling the absence of a pulse…

“Starting compressions! Amelia get the defibrillator prepped!” Using the majority of my strength I started counting the compressions in my head. What made things worse was that this patient already had broken ribs when he first came in; the situation could go tits up at any moment if those ribs receive anymore damage from the CPR I was giving. I could already feel sweat begin to run down my brow, come on! COME ON! Amelia quickly got me out the way to rip open the gown exposing his chest to place down the pads. “Clear!”

I jumped out of the way to allow Amelia to send a shock to the mans chest. For a second he seized up as the electrical current passed through him, but the tell of the monitor beside me gave away that he needed another one. “Clear!”  
He seized up again and we waited with bated breath to see the effects. When that heart monitor finally began beeping again, you could practically taste the relief in the room. I honestly thought we were going to lose him there.

“He’s stabilising.” Thank god. I didn’t know how long I could keep that up. I looked down at the pitiful man, he was still unconscious and he definitely wasn’t waking up anytime soon. Not after going into cardiac arrest, he wasn’t even out of the OR for very long. It doesn’t make sense; his condition was stable after that emergency surgery and his vitals were normal. There’s something not quite right here and don’t like it, not at all. 

“Amelia could you get me more fluids for the patient?”

“Got it.”

“And be sure to prepare for more tests. I want to make sure we haven’t missed anything. He shouldn’t have started seizing like that in the first place.” I could tell by the look on Amelia’s face that she was thinking the same thing, we wouldn’t have thought twice if his vitals had gradually begun to drop but for him to go into a full-on seizure then cardiac arrest right out of the blue? In the world of medicine even the strangest things can happen but not something like this. As much as I want to confide in Doctor Williams on my suspicions of foul play, we were always taught to be careful on letting out such drastic accusations. I picked up the clipboard attached to the bed, Noah Adler, so that’s our mystery man. Was rushed in at approximately 4:35 am, suffering from multiple injures due to a car crash, including a fractured skull, broken ribs, and internal bleeding. He doesn’t seem to have any visitors or anyone waiting for him, Hell I don’t think anyone actually mentioned his name. Maybe he’s homeless? No that can’t be it if he was involved in a car accident, I wonder if there was anyone else involved in that accident? No they would’ve been rushed here as well, so Adler here must have crashed the car on his own.  
I like to think that I’m pretty coolheaded but I swear to shit, having a half dead mans hand shoot out and grab me by the wrist was enough to make me jump out of my skin. I didn’t even realise that I had made my way to the patient’s side. Noah’s eyes were barely open but he had an ironclad grip on me, knuckles pale white.

“…..Can’t…d-don’t let…don’t let him……take it..I have to…..my brothers..” His voice was nothing more than a raspy whisper, I could barely make it out. Let who have what? And is he asking me to call his family?

“Mr Adler? I’m Doctor Campbell, you should rest, is there anyone we can call for you?” He probably wouldn’t remember this, but if I’m able to at least get a number, then maybe I can get a hold of someone for him. A friend or family member, hell even an acquaintance would do. It isn’t right that this man is laying here fighting for his life all alone.

“…..My brothers…give…give them….the piece…” Piece of what? I don’t think I’ll be getting anything useful from him. I gently removed Noah’s hand from my wrist, tucking the blanket over him, trying to be as comforting as I could. This man had just been to Hell and back and was desperately hanging on to consciousness. He tried to speak again but I quietly shushed him, informing him that I’ll try to find what he was asking for. I left the trauma room as quietly as possible, looking for that familiar strawberry blonde. I made my way round to the reception where one of the other nurses, Joanna, was filling out paperwork.

“Joanna? Have you seen Amelia anywhere?” Besides Amelia, Joanna also welcomed me here warmly on my first day, but unlike her, this badass nurse was never afraid to give me a kick up the ass whenever I screwed up. She’s all about tough love since a single mistake in this line of work could cost someone their life. She looked up at me, at first seeming annoyed which quickly melted off her face as soon as she noticed it was me. Must be having a rough day too.

“She’s in trauma room two. Should be finished in a few minutes. Why? You that eager to chat up your sweetheart? Just be careful; you’re still at work.” My face immediately went up in flames as soon as she mentioned the word ‘sweetheart’, I mean yeah Amelia is one to me, but she’s not mine…

“Don’t be ridiculous! You know I’m always professional while on the job. I’m only asking cause a patient was asking for something, a possession that was brought in with him. I thought Amelia may know since she was the nurse to provide treatment when he was rushed in.” The amused nurse just smirked at my reaction and quickly swivelled in her chair to face the computer. Her finger quickly tapping at the keys.

“Are you talking about Mr Adler? Lets see….There was only one item that was brought in with him.” So that’s what he was probably mumbling about, what is it that’s so important? We’ll just need to wait until he wakes up again. 

“Excuse me nurse if you don’t mind, I’d like to take that item off your hands. I’m sure my friend rather I’d hold onto to it.” I nearly jumped ten feet in the air from the deep voice that was all of a sudden right beside me. Wait I know this voice! I swung around to see the one person I least expected. Mr Carter? I thought that brute left ages ago, why is he still here? And why was he acting all polite now?

“I’m sorry sir but unfortunately it’s hospital policy that we can’t hand over a patient’s possessions without ID proof of you being a relative. I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait until Mr Adler wakes up.” And like that the mans face twisted in rage. He took a threatening step forward as if he were ready to lunge at the girl.

“Are you serious?! Don’t be stupid I’m just a friend so give it!” I immediately stood between him and desk separating them, looking up at the giant man right in the eye. This entire situation was just becoming weirder and weirder. The fuck is his problem?!

“Mr Carter, if you resort to any threatening behaviour or violence then I won’t hesitate to call security to escort you from the premises. I suggest you think through this carefully.” Now don’t get me wrong I’m absolutely bricking it here, I mean I know basic self defence but this guy could snap me in half like a twig. Luckily for me, Carter seemed to understand the situation and slowly backed off, glaring holes into my figure. Time seemed to slow as he finally walked out into the waiting room. I have a bad feeling in my gut, like my fight or flight reactions just been triggered.

“What a jackass. Oh well at least he didn’t start anything.” Trust you not to be too affected by a tense situation Joanna. But you’ve probably seen worse while working here.

“By the way Joanna, could you show me what was taken in with Mr Adler? You see he suddenly woke up not too long ago asking for it. He was insistent that one of his brothers take it.” She just raised an eyebrow at me before kneeling down under the desk to pick up a dusty old wooden box. It wasn’t that big but obviously not tiny. Joanna carefully unclasped the latches and opened up the box, reached in and pulled out…an orb? What is that? It was golden with intricate markings engraved all over it and just fit right in the palm of the nurse’s hand.

“I won’t lie Doc, but I haven’t a clue what this is. It seems valuable so obviously I wasn’t just going to hand it over to Carter. Do you know what it is?” I shook my head, not understanding why Mr Adler was more concerned about this orb over his own life.

“Do you have any idea on who Mr Adler’s brothers are? Did you get any contact info?” Joanna just shrugged her shoulders while placing the orb back in the box and putting it away. 

“That’s there weird thing though, Mr Adler’s an only child. According to our records he doesn’t have any immediate family or relative.” Then why did he ask for his brothers?! I just wanted to scream, I hate not knowing things. Getting frustrated over this isn’t going to help anyone so I might as well just get on with my work here. The rest of the day just went by, well more like dragged. Besides the whole ordeal with Adler and Carter, the hospital was pretty quiet which was surprising but not unpleasant. Just means that not as many people were being rushed in while dying. Before I know it, I was nearing the end of my shift, finally! It’s already 8:30pm.

“Doctor Campbell! I know you just finished but Mr Adler just woke up and is asking for you.” Are you shitting me right now?! Why couldn’t he just stay asleep and actually allow himself to recover properly? Why does he need me of all people? There’s plenty of doctors here.

“It’s alright I’ll be right over.” Stubborn men and their stubborn pride and their stupid stubbornness overall! Quickly throwing my white coat back on I rushed to the trauma room here my patient was waiting, lets get this over and done with I’m starving here! I pulled back the curtain and wasn’t too surprised to see that Adler wasn’t sitting up, I would have thought that he was still unconscious if his eyes didn’t immediately lock onto me as soon as he noticed my presence.

“Dr Campbell. Hello.” I shivered at his voice. He may be down for the count but without the rasp in his voice he sounded cold, almost unfeeling. It felt like I was prey.

“The nurse said you wanted to see me Mr Adler. Your vitals seem to be normal, are you experiencing any pain or discomfort?” He tried to shake his head, but he finally cracked a smile, did I say something funny? 

“No I feel fine. I just need a favour. Was there an item that was brought in with me? A golden orb?”

“Yes, we’ve kept it safe for you, although another patient tried to take it, claiming he was a friend of yours. We couldn’t just hand it out as there was no proof of him actually knowing you. But you should really be resting, we can sort out your possessions in the morning.” The minute I told him that someone else tried to take the orb he looked panicked. Like downright ready to jump out of the bed. He tried to sit up, groaning in pain, already in the process of reopening his wounds. Of course I freaked out and scurried over to push him back down. Men.

“You don’t understand! *huff* That orb can’t…!”

“Look if you’re really worried about it. Then give me a number to call so they can pick it up for you.” Adler considered my offer and seemed satisfied when he finally stopped struggling. However I could tell that he was still wary of me. I grabbed a pad from the side table and a pen from my coat pocket and took down the number Adler wanted me to call. 

“Alright, I’ll go ring this up and have them pick up the orb. Is there anything else you need while I’m gone?” Shaking his head no, he just turned over facing away from me. Guess he’s done talking for the night. No matter, he needs all the rest he can get. . I left Adler in peace, heading for the phone at reception. After this I’m just ready to go home and sleep for the next twenty-four hours, the thought of a bed right now is so alluring right now. When I made it to the desk, there was one of my favourite people; Amelia…..Wait she’s been here since 4:00am!! Why is she still here?!

“Amelia? How come you’re still here? You should’ve finished hours ago!” The sweet nurse just looked at me in surprise before bursting into a fit of exhausted giggles.

“Oh come on Lucy, I’m a nurse, we’re used to ridiculously long shifts.” Right…I feel sorry for the majority of nurses here, besides the treatment they get from patients; they’re also expected to pull off nearly twenty-four hour shifts.

“You should take it easy hun, I’d hate it if you were to collapse from fatigue. Oh yeah I need to call this number for Mr Adler. Apparently it’s a number for someone to come pick up his possessions.”

“Wow, that patient’s really persistent about that freaky orb huh? Well I’ll get out of your hair now. I’m sure you’re dying to go home.” I wanted her to stay, I wanted to keep talking to her. Afterall it’s rare that we get moments like this, just the two of us. I won’t deny that I’m a coward whenever something like this happens. Dad always said that whenever I took a fancy to someone I had the most bizarre ways of showing it. Yeesh the flashbacks of high school, those were not pretty memories. I’m relieved that I grew out of my awkward phase, but it just meant that I developed the troublesome habit of not actually voicing my feelings. Well not this time; I’ll take that leap of faith.

“Uhh….Amelia?.....I was wondering…Do you ever..want to go out sometime?” Yes! Take that anxiety! I could just imagine a mini me doing a little victory dance in my head. This is the first time I’ve asked someone out, so I should be proud! However my little victory was short lived. After I asked her; Amelia just gave me a sweet smile, uttering a few words that made me both down heartened and unable to correct her.

“What are you talking about Lucy? We already agreed to go out with the rest of the squad. You must be more than I thought. I’ll give you a call to let you know when it’ll be happening okay?” No! No! No! I wasn’t talking about a group get together! I want it to be just the two of us! I want to talk about other things with you that’s not about work. What’s your greatest dream? Your favourite memory? Your most embarrassing moment? I just want to spend more time with you.

“Oh…oh yeah, sorry my bad.” I could only muster up a timid smile at the blonde as she started to file away a few more documents. I might as well get this phone call over and done with. Now I just want to curl up and never leave my bed. Ever. I picked up the phone and dialled the number that Adler gave me, but once again that feeling of having the hairs on the back of my neck stand up came back with a vengeance.

‘The number you’re trying to call is currently unavailable.’

Excuse me now? I dialled it again and got the same automated response. Why the fuck was I given an invalid number?! Is Adler just screwing me around? No, he must have just given me the wrong number. I sighed and decided to call it quits for the night. I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow.

CRASH

What the fuck! After that massive crash, one of the heart monitors started going berserk. Amelia jumped up in surprise, shock all over her face. It came from trauma room three…Mr Adler! I rushed over to the commotion, not even considering what could’ve happened. If there was an attacker; I’m fucked. Where the Hell is security?!

“Amelia! Go find a security guard now!”

“Wait Lucy!” I didn’t give her time to finish I was already at the curtain separating the room and I pulled it back. In front of me the heart monitor was smashed on the floor and Mr Adler, barely conscious, was being held up by the scruff of his gown by none other than Carter. The fuck is going on!

“Where is it?!” Adler just groaned in response, blood seeping through his gown from his stitches reopening.

“PUT HIM THE FUCK DOWN NOW!!!!” What I failed to notice was that Carter was only using one hand to hold up Adler, so in his other was…..oh shit.

“I’m going to make this very clear. Get me what I need and I’ll be on my merry way. If you don’t then I just might have to scratch this trigger finger on mine.” By this point nurses and doctors were stepping away at the threat of the gun. Amelia had managed to get security but now there’s little that they can do now that I have said gun pointed at my head. Because I was the only person in the doorway, Carter had one target to shoot at. I could vaguely see Adler attempt to struggle as much as a man could in his condition. But right now….I’m terrified. I’m going to die. Someone…help. I don’t want to die.

“I know you’re not deaf. Be a good girl and get me what I want” I didn’t realise that Joanna came up behind me with the wooden box in her hands. She was shaking, on the verge of hyperventilating out of pure fear. I could feel myself becoming breathless as well. I tried to suck in as much air as possible but it’s no use. I have to calm down, otherwise I’ll go into a full-blown panic attack. But it’s just…..I can’t…!

“Good. Now take it out and hand it over.” Of course I did what he said. This golden orb suddenly feeling heavy in my hand. Carter just gave me a dark glare holding an expectant look to it. I took small hesitant steps towards him, my legs..they’re going to give out… As soon as I was close enough Carter dropped Adler who just fell to the ground in a bloody heap, coughing and sputtering. Suddenly the gun was pressed to my stomach and I was face to face with a monster, once again looking at him straight in the eye.

“You took too long. I’m not patient.” Everything was motionless as it was silent. After the sound of a loud bang, I felt lifeless. As if I was floating in mid air. There’s red. Lots of it and the weight in my hand. Am I still holding onto the orb? It feels….warm…burning actually, worse than the flare of pain in my stomach. I have to drop it! Why can’t I? The markings..they’re glowing? In a split second that bright light blinded my vision completely and my entire being felt like it was being ripped apart and spun around at the same time. The inside of my head felt like it was being crushed from the inside, as if there was a load of unbearable pressure on the inside of my skull. I tried to scream, but not a single peep made its way passed my lips. It hurts! It hurts! Someone help! Make it stop! And just like that it all stopped. I feel tired and my eyelids are so heavy. I’m sure everyone won’t mind if I rest my eyes, right? And just like that there was total darkness.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m so tired. And I feel….cold. Like I’m outside in the frigid weather. I tried to open my eyes but my just so sleepy. And why does it feel like I’m on concrete? Wait what happened before I blacked out again?

“Move it wench! The streets aren’t your bed!” And just like that my eyes shot open from the sharp jab to my side. Bright light immediately blinded me and of course I quickly shut them again. The fuck…Another strike was sent to my side and this time it really hurt. Did someone just fucking kick me with steel toe caps?! When I finally got my eyes used to the light, I looked up at my attacker and of course there was only one appropriate response for a time like this.

“What in the sweet mary fuck…”


	3. Lunden

It’s odd, the things you remember when you think you’re about to die. That whole ‘your life flashes before your eyes’ isn’t quite as accurate as it sounds. For Lucy, there was one specific memory that seemed to keep replaying over and over, the kind that when you look back you wouldn’t think much of it. But to the fiery red head it was a treasure for her mind. One of her older brothers giving his fourteen-year-old baby sister the good old-fashioned lecture about how boys are no good. Meanwhile their father just leaned back on the couch, laughing, reminding his eldest that no boy would ever be able to handle his baby girl. She’ll never forget it, not now that her life seemed to come to an end from the pulling of a trigger. So why does it feel like she’s been wacked in the ribs by a metal baseball bat…?

“I said move it!” Another hit. This time it was enough to rattle the young doctor from her drowsy coma. Finally managing to open her eyes the sight that greeted her wasn’t exactly…pleasant. A man. An ugly one at that. And why was he dressed up like he just came out of the middle ages? Wearing chain mail and a metal helmet. He was staring down at the confused woman, well more like leering, his lip pulled back showing repugnant yellow teeth. He was practically growling. It was at this moment that Lucy registered the pain in her side. Trying to sit up, she hissed at the throbbing sensation already feeling her anger boiling over.

“The fuck? Did you just fucking kick me?!” Before she could react, her head snapped to the side from the force of his backhand. Pain blossomed on her cheek from the sharp contact, eyes slightly watering. 

“You dare talk back to me?! Mind your place wench!” He sent another kick her way only this time the poor woman couldn’t mask the gasp of pain when his metal clad foot made contact with her ribs again. Grinding her teeth and clutching her side, Lucy managed to roll away, shakily getting to her feet. The man took a threatening step forward, hand gripping the sword strapped to his waist…wait is that real? Before he had a chance to react, Lucy dashed straight at him, ducking down out of his reach and landing an uppercut at his jaw. This proved to be a bad idea as she could feel her knuckles stinging probably already beginning to split and blister. Ah no matter, a little pain was always worth it in the long run in terms of self-defence. The iron clad man stumbled back, hand covering his bleeding mouth while growling in pain. 

“If you’re hard enough to make a hit then you’re hard enough to take a hit! Don’t fucking kick me again asshole!” The little red head may be a doctor, but hey her oath stated that she was forbidden from taking a life or denying treatment; she’ll treat this bully once he realises that she isn’t to be fucked with. Fate unfortunately wasn’t on her side; with a roar the man drew his sword and from the gleam of it, Lucy concluded that it wasn’t just a prop.

“I’ll cut you down where you stand!” The guard charged straight at her, swinging the gigantic weapon straight down with the intention of cutting her in half. Quickly reacting, the young woman just managed to dodge the incoming attack, her arm being slashed in the process of her jumping out of the way. Lucy clutched her arm, hissing from the cut and feeling the warmth of her own blood leaking between her fingers. She didn’t have time to recover properly as the psycho came at her again. Ice cold fear began to settle in allowing panic to take over, she clumsily stumbled back raising her arms to her face in a pathetic attempt at self defence while squeezing her eyes shut. Please I don’t want to die!

“Someone help!” She managed to roll out of the way, scrambling to her feet. At this point Lucy didn’t care in which direction to go; she just ran. Pushing her legs as fast as they could, the doctor made it past a crumbling arch where people were coming in and out of while hearing the madman’s footsteps right behind her.

“Get back here you cowardly bitch!” Hell no! Screw that, he can treat his own injuries. Taking many twists and turns, lungs burning for more oxygen and surroundings going by in a blur, Lucy’s mad sprint came to a screeching halt when she came to a dead end. The mans voice getting closer and closer. Shit shit SHIT! Backing up, the woman bumped into an old wooden barrel, suddenly had an idea.

The guard made a turn in which he was sure the strange woman went. Smiling wickedly once he understood that she had run into a dead end alley. He slowly walked deeper down the path all the while thinking of the many ways he’d gut her, but not before entertaining himself first…A few more paces and he came face to face with a wall. What? Where is she? He was sure she ran down this way so where is she?! Maybe the little bitch took another turn elsewhere. Scowling, he quickly made his way back out, determined to backtrack and catch the wretch. All the while his back was turned he failed to notice a tuft of red hair peeking out of a barrel in the corner.

Lucy could feel her own heartbeat thundering in her ears as she watched the man stalk away, getting farther and farther until she could no longer see his form. Lifting the lid of the barrel she gingerly climbed out, feeling the dirt and filth sticking in her hair from the tight hiding space, her arm still throbbing from her wound. Huffing a sigh of relief she cautiously made her way out of the piss smelling alley way. Maybe she can find a police officer to report that psycho, but then again he’ll probably already be arrested by now surely. Come on a complete murderous lunatic chasing her through the streets, intending to kill her must have attracted some attention, right? 

Taking a turn, Lucy stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Is this…some kind of festival going on? Or a historic event? The streets were busy yes but lined with wooden stalls practically falling apart, selling a variety of…crap really. From cracked pots to raggedy clothes, if you could call them that, and rotting food with flies buzzing around them. The people weren’t much better, everyone was dressed in said raggedy clothes, looking like they really just stepped out of the 7th century. Looks like the people here really are taking this whole event thing seriously, but the real question was how did she end up here? The last thing the red head remembered was being at the hospital, ready to go home…

“Oi! Watch where yer going!” Lucy was roughly shoved back by a much smaller woman who was looking at her as if she were a pile of dirt. She was dressed like the others in the same gaudy clothes and her greasy hair was hanging down her face like twine. Would it really kill this old boot if she were a little more polite? Most likely.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Could you perhaps tell me where I am?” The strange woman just gave the doctor a sneer, obviously not satisfied with the apology but answered, nonetheless.

“Ay? Yer in Lunden. You lose yer head or somethin’?” Did she hear that correctly? The woman pronounced it as Lunden but she couldn’t mean LONDON right?! She must still be in Chicago, there’s no way that she’s halfway across the world!

“You must be mistaken, you meant to say Chicago right? And where’s the nearest hospital? My arms been sliced open.” Dread and uneasiness began creeping in.

“You deaf as well as stupid? This is the city of Lunden, and I ‘aven’t an idea what a ‘hospital’ is but Sister Frideswid’s the best healer there is. She’ll fix you right up, even if yer a heathen Dane.” Great so this nutter’s absolutely no help. She can’t be serious, did she really expect Lucy to go to a NUN for treatment? Or does she not believe that her injury is real? Afterall these people seem to be heavily into their role play shtick. Feeling irritation bubble up, the doctor decided to play along for now.

“You’re right, I’m a big bad viking who’s going to burn down this city and steal all your gold.” Sarcasm laced her voice heavily but the old crone didn’t seem to catch on. Like at all. Eye’s widening in horror, the woman immediately turned tail and sprinted off, as if Lucy were actually chasing her with an axe and screaming about the glory of Valhalla. Sighing the young woman continued on, hopefully there’ll be a hospital or even a clinic nearby. Now that she was paying more attention, Lucy didn’t even notice the amount of passer-by’s full on staring at her. Come on people! Have you never seen a regular person before?! They’re probably staring at her injury, her crisp white coat was stained with dirt and blood now.

“Found you…little bitch.” Lucy just about jumped ten feet in the air from the voice that was suddenly right by her ear. Swinging around she came face to face with the same guard that was so intent on slaughtering her. He was leering at her, sporting a nice bruise on his jaw.

“Stay away from me you fucking nut!” He only grinned drew his sword, determined to finish the job this time.

“Afraid I can’t do that, after all you just practically declared war against this great city. Now accept your death heathen!” He charged at her; blade raised to cut her right down the middle. Fear made the poor girl freeze, completely paralysed on the spot. However before he could make it within five feet of her, he suddenly stopped. Eyes still wide, it took Lucy a few seconds to realise that it was a hand on his shoulder which halted him. The figure who literally just saved her skin was difficult to make out with the cloak and hood covering their face.

“Attacking a defenceless opponent can’t be too entertaining. Allow me to rectify that for you.” Using the hand to grab the guard with, the stranger threw the man into a stack of crates, shattering the wood in the process. His sword clattered to the ground and he groaned from the impact. The cloaked figure stood in front of the fear stricken girl, drawing a massive axe that was previously attached to their back. The guard roared in anger, picking up his weapon and charging at the stranger. This proved to be a vital mistake on his part, and a horrifying experience for the doctor. As if gliding on the wind, the stranger ducked down from the oncoming weapon, moving to the guards back. Before he had time to react, the axe had already cut cleanly through his leg and barely even a second later his head was rolling towards the shell shocked woman. People around began screaming and running away, calling for help but Lucy couldn’t seem to get a single sound to leave her mouth. From beneath the strangers hood, she could spot a satisfied smirk. Did…did they take pleasure in this?! It was at this moment that Lucy decided, this wasn’t a make believe event. Placing their blood soaked axe on their back, the stranger began to walk towards her, which only made the woman back up in terror.

“Stay….Stay away….” They placed their hands in a calming motion, a small attempt to ease her, which clearly wasn’t working.

“Peace, if I wanted to kill you, your head would’ve been rolling along side that poor bastard’s at your feet.” Their voice sounded rough, raspy even, as if their very tone had set the standard at not to be fucked with. A rough voice but…light, lighter than a man’s.

“You..you killed him! You actually killed him!” 

“And you should thank your god that I did Saxon. Some gratitude would be welcome.” Saxon? First she was called a Dane and now a Saxon, what’s wrong with all these people?!

“I’m grateful you saved me…but..but you didn’t have to kill him!” After coming to the conclusion of this being a little too real, shock sunk in and tears began brimming in her eyes but she tried to keep them at bay. Feeling the air begin to thin from an oncoming panic attack, Lucy did the only thing that any normal person could. She fainted.

Eivor was conflicted about the situation in front of her. The strange woman was practically on the verge of snivelling like a small babe but still had the audacity to lecture her on her actions. Before she could get a single word of rebut in, the little weakling lost her footing on the verge of collapsing. Before the woman’s head even made contact with the ground, Eivor swooped in and caught her. How troublesome. The viking came to the conclusion that this woman wasn’t from this land, judging by her clothing. All dressed in black except for the mud and blood stained white coat on her shoulders. The only thing of value that she seemed to have was the silver necklace around her throat. If the Dane didn’t know any better she’d say that this woman looked like a Hidden One. Maybe she is with the shadowy brotherhood? No that can’t be right, Hytham and Basim are highly skilled warriors trained in the art of killing. This woman obviously hasn’t seen death up close and personal before and she was completely unarmed.

Throwing the unconscious woman over her shoulder, Eivor decided to make them both scarce before more guards swarmed the area. Maybe Stowe will know what to do with the newcomer and by the looks of her arm, she’ll need a healer. What a nuisance. She already has her hands full with her mission to annihilate the members of the order here. The Arrow had already been dealt with, who turned out to be Avges Spearhand. Bacraut. So one down; two to go. It didn’t take too long for the Dane to make it to the church where the reeve was waiting for her. Making sure not to spook any of the praying worshippers, Eivor quietly made her way to the back room. Of course Stowe was pleased to see her but the look of satisfaction turned into one of confusion once he spotted the unconscious woman hanging over her shoulder.

“Eivor? Who is this?”

“A mad woman who was causing trouble in the market. She’s in need of a healer.” Gently placing the stranger on a rug mat, Stowe quickly set to work on checking her injury. Ripping off the sleeve of the odd material, both parties were able to see the extent of the damage. The guards sword had managed to slice the poor girls arm from her shoulder to her elbow, the useless appendage caked in dried red. The reeve got a bowl and cloth from the nearby table and began cleaning what he could. He wasn’t even halfway through wiping away her forearm until Eivor’s eye caught a glimpse of the woman’s skin showing through, to be more precise; the mark inked in black. So…She really is with the Hidden Ones. This complicates things.

“What news do you have on The Arrow Eivor?” By this point Stowe had used the cloth to wrap the woman’s arm until a healer can take over.

“The Arrow is no more; his true identity was Avges Spearhand.”

“Avges? That can’t be right.” Stowe shook his head in denial, Surely Eivor must be mistaken. Avges was a good friend, he’d never resort to such barbaric tacts.

“I could come back with his head on a spear, if you truly don’t believe me.” Eivor just shrugged in nonchalance, although the thought of having to go back to the gallows made her groan in exasperation. The bacraut’s body would’ve been carried away by now. No matter.

“I know you’ve no reason to lie. Yet Avges…He was an old friend but had no cause for murder. He saw Lunden as a kiln of rage and yet I saw to ignore what I hoped not to see. Greed, anger…Power. Men will claw and cling to it for they have.” Eivor felt pity for the man. Truly she did, but pity won’t change the past. Avges may have been someone who Stowe once called friend and he paid for his betrayal in blood. 

“Very true. Now with Avges gone, I will turn my attention to The Leech. And with the appearance of this woman, I ask that you watch over her. There are some things I must question her about.” Stowe nodded in agreement; his attention briefly turned to the red head. She looked almost peaceful, as if not a single scrap of corruption could reach her. Quite beautiful too. Almost angelic, even if she was covered in filth. But what was Eivor's interest in her?

“Erke should be waiting for you down at the quays, if The Compass emerges, let me know.” Of course knowing the hardened Dane, she’ll probably end up on the church’s doorstep with the heads of both The Leech and The Compass if she was unfortunate enough to encounter the two of them.  
As Eivor prepared to leave, Stowe set to find a Sister to stitch up the arm of the mystery woman. He did all he could for her to the best of his ability but he was no healer. 

“I’ll be here waiting for the good word, take care Broga.” The two grabbed arms firmly in parting, both eager to see this hunt through. When the Viking finally left, one of the Nuns approached, holding a bowl of clean water & a cloth as well as a needle and thread.

“Ser? I am Sister Agitha, where is the girl?” Stowe gestured to the room and made himself comfortable in a corner while the Sister set to work. Removing the dirty cloth from her wound, the reeve cringed when fresh blood started to flow. Definitely no healer. He considered her strange clothing and understood why Eivor thought she was a foreigner. Everything this woman was wearing was just plain odd. Nothing he’d ever seen before. Even he wanted to know more, mainly if she were to pose any threat to the city. He watched as Agitha swiftly cleaned and stitched the angry looking wound and to be honest it didn’t look much better. The thread puckered up the flesh as it was forced back together, the skin surround the area rosy red. That’s definitely going to scar. It’s a good thing that it’ll be covered up with what gauze they have lest they wanted the poor girl to go into hysterics if she saw the state of her injury.

“I’ll come back in a few hours to clean her up again. If the wound is allowed to fester she’ll surely perish.” 

“Understood. Thank you for your assistance Sister.” As the Nun left now came the one thing that Stowe wasn’t so ecstatic about: waiting. He could go and gather more information on The Compass but then that would involve leaving the woman unattended. He couldn’t risk her leaving if she were to awaken while he was gone. If he was fortunate then Erke won’t be too long or the woman will come back to the waking world soon.

“Who are you little one?”


	4. Answers

If Stowe didn’t know any better then he’d say that the mystery woman had passed on to the next life. Her form was completely still, cheeks paler than the winters snow, the only indication of her still possessing any life were the shallow breaths that passed her lips. Erke had still yet to return and it had already been a few hours passed sundown. The corridors of St Pauls were dimly lit with what candles there was and the tired man was trying his damndest not to doze off. To be a reeve, one had to know the art of patience. Stowe made himself comfortable in the rickety old chair that was seated in the same corner he’d been occupying the whole time, his eyelids were becoming more and more heavy as sleep beckoned him to its sweet embrace. 

“…mmhmm..” Oh? The small sound quickly chased away whatever exhaustion was plaguing the man, sitting upright to intently gaze at the rousing woman. Her eyelids squeezed tighter as she tried to go back to the comfort of unconsciousness, but her mind was clearly chasing phantom dreams.

The first thing Lucy could focus on was the burning sensation on her arm, as if the flesh there had been seared. The second was the uncomfortable scratchy rug she was lying on and the fact that she obviously wasn’t on the streets anymore. Lifting a hand to rub the sleep from her eyes, the doctor began to sit up, rolling her stiff shoulders.

“Welcome back to the land of the living milady.” The poor woman screamed in surprise from the sudden announcement, her head whipping to turn towards the voice. She mentally began kicking herself for not noticing the man that was very clearly sitting in the corner. It didn’t take long for her reflexes to kick in, urging her to back away into a corner like a caged animal.

“Who are you?! Where am I?!” The man just leaned forward, hands folded under his chin and eyes boring holes right into her figure. Lucy shivered from the attention, her skin crawling from the ordeal. The unease turned to panic as soon as her gaze was drawn to the sword leaning beside him. The events before her black out rushed back to her memories, panic going into borderline hysteria.  
Stowe knew that as soon as her eyes landed on his weapon, she’d most likely panic. From what Eivor had told him, this woman obviously wasn’t used to death and violence and so lifted his hands in a surrender motion.

“Easy now, you have my word that I won’t harm you, I am Stowe; The reeve of Lunden.” A reeve? Lucy tried to rack her brain on remembering what that was. A reeve…weren’t they sort of like the police? Wait if that’s true then he can help her! She slowly relaxed, willing herself to not be as on edge. If this man was supposed to be ‘good’ then she’s safe for now. Looking around, Lucy could see that she was in some sort of stone building, a big one at that. The only source of light being the lit candles on the wooden table by the door. It allowed her to get a proper look at the man’s face, he didn’t seem so intimidating. Dark skin and black hair, but what struck Lucy were his eyes, they were dark but kind, exceedingly kind. She was safe.

“Please sir, could you tell me where I am?” Her throat was dry as if it were made of sandpaper, which made her voice come out as a croak. She cringed from the sound, face turning red from embarrassment. When she bowed her head she noticed her right sleeve was missing and dirty bandages around her arm. Oh right.

“We’re in the church of St Pauls. My…acquaintance brought you here and we had one of the sisters fix you up. How are you faring?” Like shit. That was Lucy’s immediate response that she wanted to give but didn’t want to come across as rude, especially since this man helped her. Stowe he said his name was. Very…dark ages.

“I could be better, considering your ‘acquaintance’ brutally murdered a man right in front of me!” Stowe sighed in exasperation. He obviously wasn’t pleased with the senseless violence, but if one didn’t have a choice then so be it. He could tell that this woman was going to be difficult, he almost wished that she was still unconscious. There was a lot that he wanted to ask her but for now he knew he couldn’t suffocate the woman with questions and overwhelm her. 

“I apologise for Eivor’s…tactics but that’s the way of the Danes I’m afraid. Now may I ask for your name and where you hail from?” The reeve watched her tug on the dressings of her arm, her brow furrowed in distaste. If she kept that up she’ll risk reopening her wounds…

“My name’s Lucy and I’m from Chicago. Who patched up my arm? Why wasn’t I taken to a hospital?” Honestly, these people must have been thick. The doctors mindset was obviously still in denial about her situation, she can’t really be in another time right? So why did these idiots risk her health by using a dirt covered cloth as gauze? Ripping the material off as soon as Lucy saw the state of her arm she nearly fainted all over again. What the actual fuck?! From her shoulder to her elbow, the flesh of her arm was grotesquely pinched together with thread that was barely holding it in place. Even if this got properly treated, it’ll still leave a hideous scar. Thank god the gash wasn’t on her other arm, her tattoo would’ve been ruined. Speaking of, her eyes trailed down to her forearm spotting the new addition of ink. Now she knew she didn’t have a tattoo there before, afterall she couldn’t risk having her superiors knowing that she had any body modifications. It’s why she only ever had two tattoos, both in places that were easily covered. This new ink: it was bizarre. In black was what could be described as an arrowhead that was pointing towards her hand.

“Wait milady-..Loocey. I’ve never heard of this ‘Sheekago’ or ‘hospital’ but please don’t take off your dressings, your wound will fester otherwise.” Stowe quickly got up and made his way towards the young woman, urging her to put the poor excuse of a ‘bandage back on. She only swatted him away, disgruntled from the unwanted correction. The doctor tentatively poked at the wound, instantly regretting it when a burning sharp pain ran up her arm. Okay don’t touch the patchwork job, perfect.

“It’s Lucy, and can I ask you something? It might seem strange but it’s important that you answer.” The reeve could only raise an eyebrow, curious about what she would ask of him. Her manner of speaking was strange enough as it is so there’s probably not much else she could throw at him. He nodded and waited for her to continue.

“What year is it?” A strange question from a strange woman. Meanwhile Lucy dreaded to hear the reeve’s answer. Hoping and praying that this whole thing was still a role playing event, no god could be this sick and twisted. Not to a modern woman like her.

“Tis the second year of King Aelfred the Great.” Lucy knew she should’ve expected an answer like this. She couldn’t say she was surprised after the shit show of a day she just had but….this…can’t be real. Tears begun streaming down the devastated red heads face and her hand covered her mouth to stifle a sob. Her shoulders shook and she desperately tried not to wail like a bairn, but how was she supposed to react?! Sure she might not know the exact year but, when people referred it to how long someone of royalty’s been reigning; she knew she’d been tossed back very fucking far. Stowe could only watch cluelessly as the doctor nearly collapsed in despair. What was wrong with the year? Was she expecting a different answer? He tried to wrap the cloth back on her arm but she merely pushed him away. Wiping tears from her eyes.

“No don’t…it’ll become infected. Can I get some water, boiled, and a clean cloth? And a tiny bit of salt if you don’t mind.” The reeve could only blink in bewilderment. Did he hear that correctly? Was this woman….a healer? He never would have guessed. The Lord in Heaven works in mysterious ways; this Stowe was certain. He could get the water and cloth but the salt? That was a luxury not many people had.

“I’ll be back shortly with what you need. Please try not to strain yourself too much milady.” Lucy could only roll her eyes at the formality, she was going to have to get used to that probably. At least he was respectful, not like that pig who chased her down. A shiver racked her form from the memory, she really hoped that there won’t be any more similar experiences. On the contrary knowing her situation, she’d have to continuously fight for her life. As Stowe left to fetch the water and cloth, Lucy tried to figure out which century she’d been taken to. Let’s see, a time period with Danes, Saxons and a king known as Aelfred. There was only one king by that name who ruled during the time of conflict between Saxons and Danes. Trying to wrack her brain, she concluded that she must be in a time period between the 8th century and the 9th century. Great. Absolutely fucking perfect. The most that she could do right now was wait for the kind man to come back. One step at a time Lucy, one step at a time. What the Hell was she going to do? If she told anyone here that she was from the 21st century then she’d instantly be branded as witch and burned at the stake. At least the Saxons would, the Danes she wasn’t so sure. Considering the only Dane she actually encountered was this Eivor woman who beheaded a man right in front of her. Lucy didn’t want to think what could happen. She could try and confined in Stowe, he seemed like a reasonable man, but what if he turned on her? Damn.

“I have the water for you Lady Lucy, unfortunately I am unable to get you the salt.” The doctor jumped in surprise, not expecting him to come back so soon. He was holding a wooden bowl with steam rising out of it. Good it’s been boiled. There might not be salt for it but hot water was better than nothing. Kneeling down beside her, Stowe set the bowl on the floor and handed her the cloth. He watched her intently as she soaked the ripped cloth and began to use it to put pressure on her stitches. Lucy drew in a sharp breath of pain, clenching her teeth as she tried not to cry out. 

“May I ask; are you a healer Lady Lucy?” 

“You…could say that. Where I’m from I’m called a doctor and please just call me Lucy. Lady Lucy sounds so formal.” She gave Stowe a small smile, grateful for the distraction from the pain. It was still nipping at her skin as she soaked the cloth again, watching the clean water turn to a shade of pink from her blood.

“As you wish, could you tell me of your homeland?” At this she paused. What was she supposed to say? Oh well you see Mr Reeve, I’m from the future, over twelve hundred years to be exact! No. Not a chance.

“I…..I’m very, very far from home. I don’t know if I can ever go back…I have nowhere to go…” Her sentence was cut off by a sob, more tears beginning to flow at the idea of being stuck here, away from her home, her family, her work, everything. She felt a hand on her back, beginning to stroke her in a soothing motion in an effort to calm her down. Stowe had a look of sympathy on his face, as if he understood the deep sadness that was weighing on her heart.

“You have my sympathies milady. I understand what it means to not have a place to belong. My friend may be willing to give you shelter until you are able to return home. But the decision is ultimately up to her. If not then you may stay with me and Erke for the time being.” Lucy could only nod, grateful for the offer. She wiped away the last of her tears while sniffling as she continued to wash her stitches. The pain wasn’t as intense anymore, a good sign that it was thoroughly cleaned. When Stowe mentioned his ‘friend’ he probably meant Eivor. God she hoped not. The Viking may have saved her but she had proven to be far too deadly. A force that could kill her at a moment’s notice.

Stowe’s heart went out to the woman, Lucy. A unique name but a nice one if he did say so himself. No wonder she broke down, he wouldn’t know what he’d do if he were forced to leave his beloved city.  
Their moment was soon interrupted when a large figure burst into the room. Stowe stood up hastily recognising them to be Erke but Lucy shrunk back in nervousness upon seeing the new stranger. This person seemed intimidating, very intimidating, like Eivor. He was big built, with long hair that had been tied back and a scruffy beard to go with it. He must be a Dane. Judging by Stowe’s reaction this one must be a friendly, but just to be safe, the red head kept her guard up.

“Erke! You’re looking run down, what news of The Leech.” THIS was Erke? He looked out of breath, as if he ran around the whole city and judging from the shouts of anger outside the church, he most likely did. 

“The Leech is no more than a corpse now. They were revealed to be Sister Frideswid. The people are enraged to know that she’s been cut down.” Frideswid. Where had Lucy heard that name before? It was familiar. It took her a few seconds to remember that the old woman she had bumped into before had suggested that she go see someone called Frideswid for her injury. If this Frideswid woman was a healer as these people called them, then why kill her? 

“Come we better go over the map of the city to determine where The Compass will show himself…..Who’s the woman?” Oh now he decided to notice her. Lucy could already feel her irritation rise up at the mans blatant rudeness. She was almost tempted to cuss him out but held her voice. Make friends Doctor Campbell, not enemies.

“This is Lucy. Eivor brought her here before meeting you. She’s a mystery but no danger to us.” Lucy could tell that Erke didn’t believe his comrade, he eyed the red head distrustfully, as if she could jump up and attack at any minute. All she could do was huff out a sigh and return the glare right back. Ignoring the two men, she wrapped the cloth she’d been using around her stitches to cover them. The water had cooled at this point which soothed the burning ache. Erke could only raise an eyebrow, giving the reeve a confused look.

“She’s a healer apparently. Come we better go over this map. Lucy could you wait here for now?” She nodded in understanding but couldn’t help the peak of curiosity that took over. Both men left her to her own devices, their voices growing fainter as they chatted about ‘The Compass’. They referred to Sister Frideswid as ‘The Leech’, but what did she do to deserve such a name? Or to die for that matter? Standing up, Lucy quietly made her way out of the room, the main body of the church was beautiful! It was massive but the architecture was stunning. She’ll admit she loves historical buildings but to see one when it was in it’s prime was amazing. She was so caught up that she didn’t even notice the two men stare at her way. Stowe watched with a small smile, warmed by the idea of someone being entranced by a place of sanctuary. Erke was plain confused, has this woman never seen a cathedral before? She was a Saxon right? He was sure that they all had faith in their God and often gathered at their place of worship.  
Of course after a few minutes Lucy noticed the pair staring at her and fought a blush that threatened crawl across her cheeks.

“Sorry. I’ve never actually been in a church before.” Now that was a surprise. She really was just odd. 

“I’m shocked that you haven’t been branded as a heathen. I was under the assumption that all Saxons gathered at their gods house.”

“Oh believe me I’ve already been called a heathen before. And to be honest the only reason I’ve never been in a church like this before is well…I’m an atheist.” Lucy knew that she had both men enamoured by her words and she only just realised her mistake. Atheists weren’t recognised yet. In this time if you didn’t believe in God or the bible you were basically sentenced to death. Fuck!  
Stowe and Erke however were intrigued. They’ve never heard of an ‘atheist’ before, so maybe it was a religious practice that her people had back in her homeland. Like the Danes with their gods. 

“Some surely guests outside.” All three whipped their heads around towards the Dane who just snuck up on them. Lucy was sure that she’ll have a heart attack one day from all the surprises. She thought Vikings were supposed to be loud with their presence. She watched as Eivor took down her hood, eyes boring holes into the woman.

“And it seems our mystery guest has finally awoken.” Eivor just smirked at the stunned doctor. Satisfied with the reaction. 

“Eivor…we…we didn’t see you enter.” Erke rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment at having been caught off guard. Stowe gave a small sigh, but relieved that Eivor had made it back.

“Have any of you stepped outside? The streets are practically rioting.” Lucy could only cast a worried look towards the door, the shouts and demands of the people outside becoming more and more volatile. She could just imagine them holding pitch forks and torches as if they were on some sort of witch hunt.

“The deaths of Avges and Frideswid have angered many.” This time instead of just being a bystander sitting around wondering about what the Hells going on, Lucy decided to finally grow a pair. Stepping up in front of the three she could no longer keep quiet.

“Who are the people you’re talking about? And why did they have to die?!” Death should be normal in a doctors line of work but being unable to save someone and just outright killing them were two completely different things. If Lucy was going to live alongside these people then she’ll need to understand why they took the lives of so many.

“I see your fiery temper hasn’t been extinguished in any way since our last meeting. I assume you know The Order of Ancients, judging by the tattoo on your arm.” What? The Hell is the Order of Ancients? Eivor gestured to the new ink on Lucy’s arm, expecting her to come clean about her true identity but unfortunately for the Dane, the poor girl didn’t know a thing.

“You know what this symbol is? And what’s The Order of Ancients? I don’t know what any of that means. I’ve never had this tattoo before I just….woke up with it.” That probably wasn’t the best response to give. Eivor could already feel annoyance at both the situation and the woman. But curiosity was stronger. If this woman truly didn’t know anything of the Order or the Hidden Ones, then maybe Hytham or Basim could make sense of this. Also she knew that they wouldn’t be happy if she allowed the woman to wonder around freely while bearing their Sigel. The drengr could feel a headache coming on and tried her hardest to not snap at the woman, this ordeal wasn’t her fault. Looks like there’ll be a temporary addition to Raventhorpe, a mysteriously useless one at that.

“What’s your name? I imagine you wouldn’t be too happy with me calling you ‘woman’ all the time.” You imagine right. 

“My name’s Lucy. Lucy Campbell. And I assume you are Eivor?” Stowe and Erke just watched the exchange between the two women, both complete opposites. It was sort of amusing to see them slowly becoming more and more agitated but both too proud to allow their frustrations to take over. A true display of patience.

“Well, Lucy Campbell. Do you know how to fight?” Lucy could only blink indecorously at the straightforward question. Her? Fight? Sure she knew basic self defence but she didn’t know how to full on brawl. Judging by the exasperated look on Eivors face, she already knew the red heads answer. Everyone’s attention was then drawn to the wooden door that was shaking from the force of the mobs attacks. Dread quickly filled Lucy as she then knew that they were trying to break down the door!

“We’ve no time to waste. Let us hope that the compass numbers among the offended. We best go over on what we know of the coward.” They all crowded around the table to decipher their next move, all the while Stowe calmly explained to Lucy everything that has happened. How Avges tried to take the city for his Order and how Frideswid was using the sick and wounded as test subjects. Rage overtook Lucy upon hearing about the so called ‘healer’ Frideswid. That monster had no right to call herself such.

“Back at home, when someone chooses to become a healer, we are sworn to an oath. To never turn away a patient in need and to never take a life. Period. This woman was no healer. She lost the right to call herself that the minute she started using innocent people as her guinea pigs!” Stowe was surprised to hear such passion and anger coming from the timid woman. He couldn’t deny that the actions of Sister Frideswid were deplorable, even if they allowed her to treat hundreds more. But seeing this woman becoming so emotional over this, it proved that she took pride in her work. A truly gentle soul that would willingly help those in need. Erke and Eivor could only stare at the doctor, only beginning to connect the dots. 

“Lucy, are you a healer yourself?” Lucy nodded in affirmative at the female Dane, the embers of her anger still flickering behind her eyes. Maybe this woman won’t be so useless after all, Raventhorpe could certainly use a healer. Before anyone could react or probably even blink, the door of the church was smashed wide open. A hulking beast of a man stood at the doorway with the mob behind him while holding a flaming torch. He didn’t even flinch as he tossed the fire towards the three inside. The flames quickly took hold of the cathedrals entrance, blocking any chance of escape. They were to be burned alive!


	5. City of Fire

“Burn in your Hell! You bloody Reeves!” Lucy will admit she wasn’t very fond of the cold. She always preferred the warmth of a nice fireplace. Now however, she wanted nothing more than for these flames to be extinguished. The hulking brute had already backed away from the churches entry as they all watched the growing fire climb higher and higher. Lucy could already feel smoke beginning to fill her lungs as her eyes watered from the ashes.

“We’re penned in!” Stowe motioned for the doctor to stay behind him, as if to use himself as a makeshift shield from the fire. By now sweat was coating their skin as the heat increased within the building. Erke tried to cover his mouth to in an attempt to stop breathing in the black smoke while Eivor desperately looked around for a way out.

“Is there another way out!” Lucy tried to look through the ashes, trying to find something, anything that could get them out of this mess. There must be a window or even a back entrance! Anything! Much to the woman’s horror and frustration, the only windows she could see were either too small for them to climb out of or had iron bars built into the frames.

“Up there! There’s an open window that they can’t have reached!” Stowe pointed up towards the tower of the church and Lucy could have smacked him upside the head. How were any of them supposed to get up there?! The walls looked ready to crumble and it was obviously way too high to any grown man to be able to jump up to the wooden beams. Eivor however too one look at their way out and didn’t even hesitate to rush through the flames towards the wall. With a display of strength and agility, Lucy watched as the Dane used the metal rings in the wall to hall herself up. Not even fifteen seconds passed until the red head couldn’t even see the burly woman once she disappeared up the tower.

“We need to get back! Don’t breathe in the smoke!” At this point breathing at all was becoming more and more difficult. Trying her best not to cough up her lungs, the woman rushed over to one of the small windows and used a nearby candelabra to smash the glass. It took a few hits but the rush of cold fresh air was worth it. She grabbed both Stowe and Erke by the arms and gestured for them to breathe through the window. At least for now they had a few extra minutes before the smoke suffocated them completely. Lucy fought to keep her eyes open as the heat dried them out and stung. She didn’t even register Stowe placing something in her hand. Looking down she was shocked to find that she was holding a dagger.

“Stowe…What-“

“Listen to me closely. When Eivor opens that door there’s a chance that we’re going to have to fight. Erke and I may not be able to protect you so use this to defend yourself.” WHAT!? He can’t be serious! The doctor vigorously shook her head, trying desperately to shove the weapon back to him.

“I can’t use this! I don’t kill people!” For the first time since meeting him, Lucy could see the man becoming frustrated, borderline angry. 

“Don’t be so foolish! I understand your hesitation but this is a matter of life or death!” Before she could retort, the main door was kicked in and low and behold the person standing in it’s doorway was the blood covered Dane. Stowe wasted no time and grabbed onto Lucy’s wrist, charging straight through the flames with Erke following closely behind. She could faintly feel the flames ever so slightly kiss her skin but not close enough to burn, just able to feel the scorching heat. The rush of cool air nearly made her collapse in relief, finally able to breathe easier without the suffocation of smoke. It was short lived however, as a crazed guard came out of nowhere, sword raised and ready to massacre the three of them. He obviously set his sights on the young woman, deeming her to be an easier target and launched himself right at her. All Lucy could do was scream and pathetically hold the small blade out in front of her, not knowing how to use the weapon. The guard never managed to get near her, as Erke was quick to react, shooting an arrow in the mans throat. He choked and gargled on his own blood, desperately clawing at his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Those efforts proved to be fruitless as it only took a few seconds for him to fall dead. Despite watching a man being beheaded beforehand, Lucy couldn’t stop the nausea and shock from watching something so gruesome. Falling to her knees, tears streamed down her face while covering her mouth as she could feel bile rise up. It took all her willpower not to vomit right then and there. She didn’t even register Stowe calling out to her, until he tried lifting her up.

“Lucy! Get a hold of yourself! Now’s not the time for such weakness!” His voice sounded so far off, as if he were shouting from a massive distance, but Lucy could barely move, her limbs feeling as if they were made of lead. It was only when the reeve had her on her feet that she was snapped out of her shock. Holding onto the mans shoulder for support, the four survivors came together to plan their next move.

“I caught a glimpse of a new flotilla, I’d wager that The Compass is at the centre of their command.” The rush of battle didn’t diminish any within the warrior, if only, it actually raged on at the prospect of another fight. The Compass was so close along with the victory of finally freeing the city from the plague of The Order. Eivor saw how her new healer was holding up, only to shake her head in disappointment. If she was going to survive this new world that she’s stumbled into, then she’ll need to toughen up. If that means breaking her down to the core and rebuilding her, then so be it. But right now the only thing that matters is slaying the coward that’s commanding his pawns. Both reeves proposed their strategies on dealing with the impending battle, although Erke’s plan on knowing a quicker direct path to ending The Compass was more logical.

“Let us focus on The Compass. Kill him and the battle’s won. Stowe, I’m sorry to ask this of you again but please keep an eye on the healer. Her death would be a waste.” Lucy had finally managed to find her footing, pushing herself away from her human crutch. She still clung to the small dagger in her hand, but it did truly little to offer any comfort. The thought of actually killing a human being made her nearly purge her stomach again. How the fuck did anyone survive this time period? Was wanton fighting and slaughter all there is to it? Lucy knew it would be no use getting upset over the Danes cold words, they were true after all. She was nothing but a liability here. A doctor, a healer, not a killer.  
Stowe nodded in agreement, placing a hand on her shoulder. The pair of them watched as Eivor and Erke rushed off down the bloodied streets, heading to the docks.

“We should make haste and find a place where danger isn’t nipping at our heels.” Stowe grabbed the doctors wrist and led them away from the still burning church, which was beginning to cave in completely. The two of them weaved through the streets, the majority of them being lined up with the recently deceased. Each and every one of these men died gruesomely. Bodies impaled on pikes, some missing heads, some completely cut in half and others which have been massacred to a bloody pulp. The iron scent of blood was thick in the air as Lucy’s lungs burned from the rapid breathing of literally running for her life. Stowe paid no mind to the atrocities. He knew that there would be time to mourn the dead later.  
Taking a sharp turn the pair were suddenly halted when two of The Compasses men took notice of them. Neither party hesitated, each rushing towards the other with the intent to kill. Of course Stowe pushed Lucy behind him out of the way before drawing his sword. She could only watch as the kind-hearted man became utterly ruthless; moving like a leaf in the air as he dodged the attackers. He was soon behind the closest one, his sword buried in the enemies back. The other man attempted to catch Stowe off guard, aiming to strike at his back. The reeve of course sensed this, and used the corpse impaled on his blade as a bloody shield. Stowe shoved the dead weight off his weapon, pushing back his foe in the process, who stumbled and tried to regain their footing. They didn’t have time to recompose themselves as Stowe’s red coated blade had found itself lodged in their heart. The reeve uttered a small prayer of forgiveness from the Lord, melancholic from the slaying of these men. He turned to face Lucy to ensure she was well, taking note how her face had longed turned pale like a fishes belly. She almost looked scared of him, probably from the knowledge that despite his kindness towards her previously, he was still a warrior. One who did what was necessary for his home. Even striking down other men.

“Come, we’d best keep moving, if we’re lucky then Eivor will be close to finishing off the madman who orchestrated all this bloodshed. We’ll find a place of sanctuary for you, I’m sure there’ll be injured who will need your assistance.” THAT seemed to get a reaction out of her. Eyes snapping to look up at him, Stowe could still see fear but also resolve. Lucy knew that if she were taken to a place where she was actually useful, then it may help take her mind off of the rest of the night, if only for a short time. It sounded selfish but treating patients and aiding the sick could give her a sense of normality. They soon set off again, hoping that they wouldn’t run into anymore battle hungry soldiers. It didn’t take them very long to reach another church that seemed untouched from the violence, Lunden guards standing by the doors. Stowe nodded to them in acknowledgement and ushered the young woman into the building. Behind those doors was utter chaos; people, both warriors and citizens lined the hallway. Half of them unconscious, probably dead and the other half fighting to stake awake while moaning in agony from their wounds. Nuns were rushing back and forth trying desperately to aid the dying.

“Please try and help the sisters here. I need to go join my men in fending off The Compasses dogs. You have my word that I’ll return to you.” Lucy could only sputter out a half assed sentence, obviously not appreciative of being dumped here like useless baggage. Stowe paid her no mind as he walked out with the door thundering shut behind him. He better come back…

“You there, girl! Come! We need more hands over here!” Oh how the doctor so desperately wanted to give the old crone a lesson in manners. Like the rest of the nuns she wore the traditional robes, albeit a bit dishevelled from running around the monastery. She was hunched over a patient, he seemed to be one of the guards. The exhausted nun was putting pressure on his side which was oozing red from a fresh wound. If this kept up he’ll die. Shaking her head, Lucy made her way over to the woman’s side to get a better look at the damage and she cringed. The majority of his armour had only been removed to grant access to his side which was most likely getting in the way.

“Alright here’s what we’re going to do; I’m going to take off everything on his upper half. Meanwhile I need hot water and a needle and thread. Quickly now.” The nun whipped her head around to give Lucy a look of mortification, as if the red head didn’t have the audacity to be ordering her around. The stunned look then turned to exasperation as the crone rolled her eyes at the young woman.

“You act as if you’re an expert in the art of healing which I find hard to believe.” Lucy just wanted to slam her head into a wall from the sheer annoyance. She forgot that it was exceedingly difficult for the women of this time to get any sort of respect whatsoever. She really didn’t feel like sitting here squabbling over who knows what more while a man was literally dying right in front of her.

“I think you’ll find that I am. I’ve trained for the majority of my life to get where I am now. So please can I get what I need?” The sister huffed and sharply stood up, clearly not in the mood for entertaining such an insolent cherub. If this man dies tonight then that bloods on her hands. By this point Lucy’s full attention was on her patient, he was sweating profusely, barely conscious from the pain and blood loss. The doctor quickly tried to take off the chain mail on his chest which was harder than she thought. Afterall she wasn’t awfully familiar with it. The guard groaned in pain, well more like whimpered when she accidently brushed up against his wound. Muttering a small apology, she tore open his under shirt and peeled away the cloth that the nun had previously used to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t long until the woman finally came back with the necessary utensils, setting them down beside the red head. Lucy knew that this man was going to be in agony from what was about to happen but it can’t be helped. She really missed the miracle of anaesthetics. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and to stop her shaking hands, Lucy quickly ripped off her belt and folded it in half. She gently lifted the man's head and motioned the belt to his mouth. All he could really do was look up at her through bleary eyes.

“I need you to bite down on this. I’m sorry but I can’t risk you biting your tongue. I’m going to stitch you up, okay?” Her patient tried to nod and tentatively clamped down on the leather with his teeth, loud shaky breaths coming through his nose. Using a hot damp cloth, Lucy did what she could to wash away the excess blood and used both hands on either side of the gash to manually close it shut. The man's jaw very quickly tightened on the belt and his eyes squeezed shut from the pain.

“Sister, I need you to put your hands right where mine are while I stitch the laceration shut. I’ll be as quick as I can.” The nun seemed to have gotten over her apparent dislike of the red head, not wasting any time on applying pressure where she was instructed. The wound itself seemed to pulse and bloat from the ministrations. Picking up the needle, Lucy held it over a candle flame to sterilise it, not that it would do much good. If this man was lucky an infection won’t kill him but in this day and age, it’s a definite possibility. She began to make quick work on stitching him up, albeit not easily due to the ragged flesh barely holding together with the weak thread. Stupid swords, stupid arrows, stupid everything! Her patient had already lost consciousness, going completely limp but still sweating excessively. He better not die right now or at all honestly. Threading the needle a final time, Lucy ensured that her handiwork wasn’t coming undone anytime soon. The sister could only watch in amazed curiosity as this young girl mended the damage caused with such precision. Maybe she really was a master in healing…

“That should be enough for now, are there any bandages left for him?” Maybe the good sister was a bit harsh on the red head. This woman had earned a small amount of her respect, for now.

“I’ll bind his stitches madam. There are others who will need your assistance.” Oh fun. As Lucy watched the crone walk off hastily, she looked around completely stumped on who to help first. There was so many! Shaking her head she set off towards the nearest person. If she’s going to be spending the entire night putting people back together then she might as well make her way through each and every one.  
Of course the rest of the night was gruelling, Lucy couldn’t remember having to work this hard on saving so many injured at once. Luckily, plenty of nightshifts at the hospital had well prepared the young woman for the task. However just as she thought that she reached the end of the seemingly never ending bodies; more were rushed in, some already dead and others well on their way there. The hopelessness and depression was starting to settle in, she needed this to be over, she was running on fumes at this point.

“The battle has been won! We are victorious!” Exclaimed a guard, after bursting through the church doors. Behind him was Stowe, who was clutching at his arm. Erke and Eivor weren’t far behind him but right now Lucy was simply happy that the reeve had kept his word. He said that he’d come back and so he has. Looking through the open doors, Lucy could see that daylight had broken through, confirming that everyone had been working through the whole night. Exhaustion rushed to her and honestly the thought of curling up in a warm bed and sleeping for the next week seemed so heavenly. She was brought out of her train of thought when Stowe approached.

“It seems I made a good judgement call by bringing you here. You healed all these people?” This caught the attention of the two Danes. Erke stared in disbelief while Eivor was very much pleased. If Lucy didn’t know any better then she’d say that she’s just proven herself to these three battle hardened warriors.

“Well it wasn’t all me. The sisters here did most of the work. I just stitched, cleaned and made sure that any injuries weren’t made worse.” 

“Do not dimmish your own skills healer. You saved many lives here today.” The praise came from none other than Eivor herself. The drengr clasped a hand on the smaller woman’s shoulder, giving her a pleased smile, pride showing through. Lucy felt almost humbled, sure her and the Viking may have had a rocky start but maybe they could grow to be friends.

“Thank you Eivor. That means a lot coming from you.” Eivor looked a bit surprised but accepted the compliment, nonetheless. This healer clearly wasn’t useless. In fact the Dane was certain that Lucy would become invaluable to her clan. She just knew that Valka will be most pleased with the woman’s appearance, might even take her on as an apprentice. The shadows of death and despair were starting to be chased away by the light of good fortune.

“Oh! Stowe here let me look at your arm.” The man just shook his head, confident that he didn’t need any treatment. It was only a flesh wound, nothing more than a scratch. Lucy however wasn’t having any of it, rolling up his sleeve. No stitches needed thank God, the doctor didn’t know how much more stitching she could do for now. Her fingers hurt from using the needle the whole night. All Stowe needed was for his arm to be cleaned and bandaged.

“Thank you Lady Lucy. But this isn’t necessary.” 

“It is if you don’t want it to get infected. Please let me do this?” The poor reeve was completely powerless against her, settling to allow her to wrap up his wound. Erke and Eivor were slightly laughing at his situation. He could’ve sworn that he heard Erke mutter something about how he had always been soft for a pretty face. The comment caused his cheeks to warm, eyes darting to look anywhere else lest they caught onto to his sudden bashfulness. He couldn’t deny that the woman in front of him was indeed beautiful, he knew that whoever managed to take her for a wife would be truly fortunate.

“There that should do it. Try not to irritate it too much okay?” Stowe smiled warmly at her concern. The woman may be strange but her heart was in the right place. 

“Now that Lunden is yours, to wreck or rebuild, I must return to my clan. I trust you will heed my call if I should send for you.” Stowe and Erke nodded, a sense of melancholy in the air from the nights events, but the forging of a new friendship and a strong alliance made it seem less bleak. 

“You came to Lunden in search of a friend Eivor. You found two. Most likely three if you will allow Lucy to travel with you.” Eivor’s eyes locked onto the stunned girl, her mind already made up long before the reeve requested it.

“Lucy I’d ask that you accompany me back to Ravensthorpe. There is a friend who would be most curious to meet you. I’m sure he’d like to understand on how you came to carry the mark of his Brotherhood.” Right, Eivor knew about the strange tattoo. Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that even if she did decline the offer then she’d most likely be hog tied and dragged all the way back to this ‘Ravensthorpe’. Also if she was ever going to figure out why she had this mark and if it had anything to do with her getting back home, she’ll gladly follow the Viking.

“I’d love to meet this friend of yours, Eivor.”


	6. To Ravensthorpe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note : Alright I had to edit this chapter cause the more I re-read it, the more I began to realise that both Eivor and Randvi would still be skeptical of someone claiming to be from the future.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve never seen a long ship before.” Eivor’s voice might as well have been background noise as Lucy was completely caught up in her astonishment of the beauty in front of her. The gigantic long ship was docked with the sail neatly folded down, the majority of the crew were preparing for the journey back home while others were sat down telling stories to one another. The carving on the figurehead and tailpiece were elegantly detailed, standing tall and proud. Green and black shields lined the sides of the hull, all of them scratched and chipped from many battles. Lucy never thought that she’d get to see a real Viking long ship in her time unless she travelled to Norway but to actually have one in front of her in it’s prime was breath-taking. Eivor watched on in amusement and pride as the red head practically gaped at the ship that would deliver them home. 

“To be honest Eivor, I’ve never seen a Dane long ship. There aren’t any where I’m from.” This she raised an eyebrow at in suspicion. Now that she mentioned it, Lucy never actually told them what land she hailed from. Obviously, it wasn’t England. Afterall there are plenty of long ships sailing the country’s rivers.

“Where do you hail from Lucy? I’m curious to know of a land that’s been untouched by my people.” Shit. Lucy knew that tip-toeing around the subject would make her look more untrustworthy. She tried to put it off for as long as she possibly could, but…..

“I…I came from the north.”

“The north? Pict territory then.” 

“Picts?” This woman wasn’t telling the truth. There was nothing Eivor despised more than someone possessing a snakes tongue to lie through their teeth. Lucy was unnerved and now she had every right to be for angering a Dane is most unwise.

“You need to understand that if there is to be trust between us, then there must only be truths spoken.” Lucy understood this, truly she did. 

“It’s a long story…I honestly don’t know how to say this out loud.” Eivor waited patiently for the red head to gather her bearings. Curiosity spiked even further, how could it be so difficult to tell of one’s home? Lucy nervously looked around the docks, making sure that no one would overhear her confession, workers going about their daily business, supplying ships. The doctor got closer to the woman, closing the distance so much that the drengr nearly had to take a step back. By this point Lucy was close enough that Eivor could have sworn she was going for a kiss, only to be utterly caught off guard by the whispery soft voice in her ear.

“I’m extremely far from home, several centuries far away. I shouldn’t exist yet.” Lucy moved away from the frozen Viking to take in her reaction. Grey eyes wide in disbelief, as she tried to process what exactly she was just told. Nervousness engulfed the doctor as she quickly broke eye contact, the ground all of a sudden becoming more interesting. Oh god what if Eivor thinks her mad?  
Eivor on the other hand, had no idea how to respond to such a wild claim. Centuries? This woman must have been touched by madness to even suggest such a thing. However looking at Lucy, Eivor could tell that she was telling the truth. When she tried to avoid telling the drengr of her home she was deceitful, dreadfully so, but still. This woman, the same one who stood up to the Dane for beheading a man, was now as anxious as a timid pup.

“Please… I-I know I sound..insane. I can explain this as best as I can away where others can’t hear.” All Eivor could do was pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration, a headache forming from desperately trying to make sense of the woman’s words. Is what Lucy claimed even possible? This…insanity of a mystery was too much of a conundrum for now. Eivor agreed that speaking about such things out in the open was unwise, as soon as they returned to Ravensthorpe the healer better be prepared to answer every question, every curiosity and every doubt.

“We’ll return to Ravensthorpe and when we get there; I expect a full explanation. I won’t lie Lucy, your story is far-fetched. You must have really angered the Gods if this turns out to be true.” The doctor had her head bowed down, fiery locks obscuring her face, once again manged to catch the young Viking completely off guard. Lucy came forward and rested her forehead on Eivor’s shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief.

“You have no idea how good that felt to finally tell someone, even if you don’t fully believe me. I’ll happily answer any questions you have.” Placing her hands on the healer’s shoulders, Eivor slightly pushed her back to get some distance. Judging by Lucy’s reaction, she was obviously holding herself back from outright embracing the larger woman. Such an emotional little thing she is. Eivor could feel amusement and warmth building up in her chest, her new healer may be a bit mad, but the drengr couldn’t deny that she was also endearing. A rarity during these times, most commonly observed in those who’ve hardly experienced hardship in their lives. Eivor could only wonder that if this woman really did come from another time, then were there no dangers where she’s from? How utterly dull if that were the case. How do the warriors reach Valhalla…?

“Eivor…would it be alright to say goodbye to Stowe and Erke?” Lucy fidgeted, wringing her hands, shyly looking to the ground.

“Well...why not ask them yourself?” Lucy whipped around to face the two men who were miraculously behind her, she didn’t even hear them approach. Erke smirked at the woman’s surprise, almost letting out a chuckle. Stowe warmly smiled and shook his head in amusement. They won’t lie they were slightly disappointed to see the redhead leave them but understood both her and Eivor’s reasoning. She wanted to go back home and it seems only Eivor knew of someone who could help her given the current situation.

“Sneak up on me why don’t you!” Lucy puffed out her cheeks in a strange pout, face red in embarrassment. 

“You should be more aware of your surroundings little healer. Someone as oblivious as you is bound to end up a corpse.” How cheerful of you Erke. Stowe jabbed his partner in the side, clearly disgruntled from the blunt statement. The Dane just shrugged off the reeve, rolling his eyes from his partners actions.

“Don’t mind him Lucy, it just shows he cares.” Lucy could only laugh off the man’s words, but what Erke said did bother her a little. It was a reminder of how utterly defenceless she was, she knew that for now she’ll need to rely on Eivor for survival until she was able to fight for herself.

“It’s okay, I completely get it…Before we left I just wanted to say thank you, both of you, for everything. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you two.” Stowe bashfully rubbed the back of his neck while Erke puffed his chest out in pride. Someone loves to be complimented.

“No thanks are needed milady, we only did our duty as reeves of the city.” Lucy just shook her head in amusement, before jumping towards the two men, an arm wrapped around their necks, pulling them into a tight embrace. Both Dane and Saxon froze, dumbfounded, clearly not expecting such a display of affection from the young woman. Eivor had to hold herself back from outright laughing at the scene in front of her, watching as Erke awkwardly tried squirming away while Stowe chuckled, patting Lucy on the back. It took a few moments before the red head finally decided to release them, smiling widely. Erke tried his best to appear disgruntled but clearly the doctor had grown on him, somewhat.

“Honestly, woman..learn to control your emotions.” Lucy just laughed him off, too upbeat to feel any sort of offense. It felt good to smile. Really good. She wanted to savour this bliss for a little while longer after the Hell she went through. It was probably the exhaustion catching up to her. 

“You will be dearly missed Lucy. Ravensthorpe is truly lucky to have earned such a gem.” A sort of melancholy had washed over Stowe as there was a small flicker of hope that Lucy would choose to stay in Lunden. Her skills would be invaluable, especially now that Sister Frideswid is dead and there were still plenty of injured who would need assistance. But alas, it was not meant to be. He sincerely hoped that they would meet again one day. Lucy blushed at Stowe’s words. She’ll admit the compliments of this time period were really flattering. A lot better than being called hot or sexy, in her opinion.

“We’d best set sail whilst the winds are strong. Come along now Lucy. Farewell Stowe, Erke.” Shooting the reeves one last smile, Lucy eagerly followed Eivor along the pier, coming closer to the huge, long ship. This was going to be utterly amazing. Giddiness bloomed in the doctor’s chest as excitement caused butterflies to go haywire in her stomach. God anymore and those colourful little insects would probably start flying right out of her mouth. The majority of Eivor’s crew observed the newcomer with keen interest, some nodding at her in acknowledgement and others practically leering at her figure. Alright maybe this little sailing trip won’t be so fun afterall…

“My ravens! This is Lucy Campbell, Ravensthorpe’s newest healer! Be sure to welcome her among our ranks!” The few of the warriors cheered, happy to have the new addition. There were others who didn’t seem too pleased. One in particular made his opinion on the matter quite clear.

“Eivor! We’ve no need for a new healer, Valka is the best we have!” The man who spoke up was a bit on the stumpy side but built like a tank. He glared at Lucy, as if her very presence near the ship was an offence itself. She tried not to shirk back in intimidation, but stood strong, sending the rude prick a dirty look of her own. To be frank, it was becoming tiresome dealing with one asshole after the next, but Lucy knew that with Danes the only way to get any respect was to have a spine.

“Peace Dag. With our growing settlement Valka will surely need the assistance. Besides, we can never have too many healers.” This ‘Dag’ was clearly unsatisfied with Eivor’s answer, shoulders squared up in agitation. Lucy could sense that this man had probably made himself a nuisance in the past, judging by the irked look that the female Dane tried to hide. Grabbing onto the side of the ship, Lucy tried to haul herself up, nearly loosing her balance from the slight swaying of the boat. Before she nearly lost her grip and fell into the water, Eivor’s hand shot out, gripping the healer’s elbow and roughly pulling her in. The doctor squeaked in mortification as she quite ungracefully landed on the deck, with the majority of the crew laughing at her misfortune. Eivor herself was smirking at the ordeal. All the red head could do to save herself from further embarrassment was to waddle over to a small wooden bench for a seat. She was up near the front, behind an older man who didn’t really pay her much mind while Eivor was perched up at the figurehead.

“Undock the ship and row for the open river!” Lucy had to hold onto the side of the ship as it suddenly jolted, being pushed away from the pier. The crew members immediately took up oars and began to row, increasing the distance from the Lunden harbour. Stowe and Erke watched as the longship travelled further, and Lucy being the sentimental that she was, waved them off. Stowe gave a small wave back while Erke rolled his eyes but also gave a half-assed wave of his own. The healer will admit, she’s going to miss them.

“Raise the sail!” With a ‘woosh’ the ginormous sail was opened up, the tribal raven design's practically flying with the wind against the teal green colour. The vessel moved at a faster pace, allowing the crew to put down their oars. The cold began to nip at any exposed skin, making the woman shiver. Lucy quickly took off what was left of her torn doctors coat and tried to use it as a makeshift blanket. Her arm would occasionally throb, reminding her to be more careful with her wound. She was only glad that whoever stitched up her arm had the decency to not also tear the sleeve of her turtleneck. At least that was giving her some protection from the cold. Unfortunately, a cotton turtleneck and a thin doctors coat was only so much against the unforgiving wind. Still shivering, Lucy tried to create a little bit of heat by rubbing her arms, ensuring to stay clear of her stitches.  
A weight was placed around her shoulders, making the young woman jolt, turning around to see the man behind her raise an eyebrow. Looking she saw that he had placed a fur cloak around her, still warm from wearing it.

“Can’t have you catching your death before we reach home. Just be sure to return it once we dock.” He was nonchalant, but still a lot nicer than that other ‘Dag’ character. Pulling the cloak tighter around her, Lucy saw that without it, he didn’t have much protecting him from the chill in the air.

“Thank you…but what about you? Won’t you get cold?”

“Save your worries. The cold of England is but a nip compared to the winters of Norway.” These Vikings actually came from Norway?! Lucy could remember that yes the majority of Danes immigrated to England in the hopes of conquering new land but she also knew that as time went on, a lot of them began to have families in the country they travelled to.

“What’s Norway like?” THAT caught the attention of nearly every man on the boat. Each one of them could see the interest and fascination in the healer’s emerald eyes. Eivor smirked, knowing that her warriors were going to be jumping at the chance to each tell their stories of their homeland, battles and feasts. Hermod, the raider who gave Lucy his cloak, was more than eager to begin telling stories of Norway.

“Norway was our home. Beautiful but unforgiving. Where at night you can see the lights of the Valkyries as they carry the warriors souls to Valhalla…” Lucy sat and listened, hanging onto every word that came from the raider, paying attention to every detail, every gesture. Once in a while one of the other crew members would jump in, adding in their own encounters. Each man told their own story of Norway, as the longship steadily sailed along the river. Lucy watched the beautiful scenery go by, the lush forests a rich green hiding all sorts of wildlife.  
Eivor was content that her raiders had so readily taken to Lucy, it helped that she showed fascination towards their culture and way of living. It was refreshing really, since most Saxons preferred to stay away from Danes, calling them heathens and barbarians. The warrior briefly wandered on what Sigurd would think of her; he’d most likely be satisfied, especially since this means that Ravensthorpe is flourishing.  
It took a few hours sailing on the river until Eivor could see the settlement ahead, antsy to feel solid land beneath her feet. Lucy on the other hand almost didn’t want the trip to end, in the distance she could see smoke, which was probably where Ravensthorpe was located. Throughout the entire journey, she had listened to every raider’s story and even learned a few songs from them as they sailed. The weather had become slightly warmer which made the fur cloak a bit smothering. Handing it back to the raider, who Lucy learned his name was Hermod, the ship was just beginning to dock. Stepping off the longship, with the assistance of Eivor yet again, the doctor managed to fully take in her new ‘home’. It was small, but beautiful. There were a few buildings which had been constructed that fit perfectly in the forests aesthetic. There were also some makeshift tents, showing how the settlement was still in the process of expanding. The majority of the raiders made their way to the barracks, intent on getting some rest. Eivor came up behind the preoccupied doctor, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

“Come. Let’s make for the longhouse, there’s someone I want you to meet.” There were a few people that Lucy needed to meet, Valka and Hytham included, but the drengr needed to report to Randvi and get answers from the healer. The pair walked up the crooked pathway that was leading up to the huge longhouse, Lucy could hardly stop her gawking at the new sights and sounds. Gawking turned into full on amazement once they entered the gigantic wooden building, the firepit creating a rush of warmth from the cold outside and the huge empty tables that lined the sides of the hall. Lucy was led into a smaller, sectioned off part of the house, where a woman was leaning over a table, looking over a map with several porcelain markers scattered across it.

“Randvi! I’ve returned and with more than a new ally in Lunden.” The woman, Randvi, turned her gaze to Eivor smiling at the warriors return. Her sights then quickly set onto Lucy who was fidgeting in nervousness yet again.

“Eivor, good to see you've returned. Who’s your companion?” Randi smiled at the newcomer, urging her to come forward.

“This is Lucy, our new healer. She's gifted in her craft, saved many lives in the battle of Lunden against The Compass. I knew that Valka would appreciate an extra pair of hands. Also the circumstances of her arrival are…unusual.” Lucy sighed, feeling her heartbeat quicken in anxiety. She knew that Eivor had a hard time believing her to be from the future but trying to convince another person was going to be like pulling teeth.

“Unusual how?” Eivor gestured for the doctor to explain herself, clearly not knowing how exactly to go about the subject. Alright Lucy, time to grow a pair. Raising her head, the woman’s eyes locked onto the two Danes which did very little to give her confidence. 

“I’m not of this time. I’ve actually travelled back more than a thousand years from the 21st century. The reason why I agreed to come here as a healer, is so that I can find a way to get back home.” A moment past, Randvi could only stare before breaking out into laughter.

“Surely you jest! Such Seidr is not possible. Now why don’t you tell us where you really hail from?” Frustration bubbled up, making Lucy fight to keep her cool.

“I’m not joking. I was born on the 12th of July 1993 in the city of Edinburgh in Scotland but moved to another country known as the United States which hasn’t actually been found yet. It won’t be for another 800 years. Honestly, I don’t know how I can prove to you that I’m from the future, but all I know is that I’m scared, lost and have absolutely no idea what to do or where to start on how to get home! It shouldn’t take a genius to know that I clearly don’t belong, look at my clothes, how I speak, for gods sake just everything about me!” By this point tears were streaming down the poor woman’s face, finally letting out everything she had been holding back for the past twenty-four hours. Both Randvi and Eivor could only watch, stunned as the healer practically fell to pieces in front of them. Eivor had her doubts, but this…this kind of despair, one could not fabricate. Still the Dane was hesitant to fully believe such a claim. For now She'll focus on getting Lucy familiar with the territory of the settlement, introduce her to Valka as a potential assistant and allow Hytham to interrogate her as he saw fit. As long as he didn't go to any extremes, which Eivor very much highly doubted that he would do such a thing. For a trained killer he was known to have a calm and collected nature.  
Randvi could barely wrap her mind around such a possibility, even she was finding it difficult to actually comprehend the red head's outrageous story. To travel through time? Over a thousand years? How could such a thing be possible in the first place?. No God was that cruel.  
Lucy tried to wipe away her tears with her sleeve, beating herself up mentally for being such a cry-baby throughout this whole thing.

“Calm yourself Lucy. We may not understand your predicament, but we will do everything in our power to help you. Being a resident of Ravensthorpe means being part of our clan.” Eivor had a sympathetic look on her face, trying to not outright pity the healer. 

“Thank you Eivor, both of you.” 

“No thanks needed. I only ask that you pull your weight like everyone else. And to tell no one of your origins. It would probably be in the best interest of your safety.” Lucy nodded in agreement, more than happy to not have to explain the whole time-travelling concept to anyone else. From that point on the three women were in agreement. Lucy would help with treating the residents and expanding Ravensthorpe and in return they would give her shelter and a place to stay. Along with the fact that no one outside of these walls will ever know the truth about the red head. Eivor swore to help Lucy find a way to get home, while not risking her spouting off about being from the future. The drengr didn't want to know of how the residents would react to such a thing.

“I won't lie, it'll be interesting to put my knowledge to the test here, everything is so different...” The Danes chuckled at Lucy’s attempt to begin explaining, but she was cut off with a yawn. She was exhausted. The drengr wasn’t surprised. They were up all night in Lunden, and throughout the day sailing on the river. The sun was beginning to set once more, being awake for two nights in a row didn’t sound appealing to anyone and so Eivor decided it was time to turn in for the evening.

“Come we’re both exhausted and travel weary. I’ll set up a bedroll for you to rest for the night.” Oh damn the thought of sleeping right now was just blissful. Lucy didn’t care if the bedroll was comfortable or not, she just wanted to conk out. Randvi bid the pair goodnight before retiring to her own quarters. Eivor took Lucy to another smaller room, the pantry actually, where all the food for the feasts were stored. It wasn’t the best place for slumber but it was the only option Eivor could think of that would give the red head any semblance of privacy. Lucy watched as the Viking laid out what appeared to be a very thick animal skin with a furry blanket. It looked cozy.

“I apologise for the lack of hospitality, but I promise to make up for it once you experience our feast tomorrow night. Get as much rest as you can, there’s a long day ahead of us once the sun rises.” Eivor left the doctor to her own devices, eager for her own bed. Lucy gingerly laid down on the bedroll, immediately relaxing on the animal skin. It was no memory foam mattress but god it was easy on the muscles. Cocooning herself in the fur blanket, Lucy closed her eyes and allowed her consciousness to drift away.


End file.
